title: Dialyzer re-use: a solution for the '90s.
abstract: Current economic and fiscal imperatives in health care demand innovative and cost-effective methods of care delivery. At St. Joseph's Health Centre in London, Ontario since 1990 we have been pioneering the process of dialyzer re-use in order to reduce costs while maintaining quality care. This paper will describe the process of introducing dialyzer re-use to our unit with particular emphasis on its implications for staff education, patient communication, capital equipment acquisition and the development of dialyzer re-use methods. The paper will also report the findings of an evaluation study designed to answer the following research questions: What is the effect of successive dialyzer re-uses on the clearance of urea, creatinine and phosphate? What is the incidence of fever developing during a dialysis treatment in a re-use program? What are the cost savings attributable to the introduction of re-use? Discussion of the research findings will focus on patient's and staff's reaction to the practice change and key learnings from our experience.
authors.affiliation: Hemodialysis Unit, St. Joseph's Health Centre, London, Ontario.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Robb
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Locking-Cusolito
mesh_terms: D017743:Equipment Reuse / Q000191:economics* / Q000592:standards*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006801:Humans; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods*